The aluminium import arbitrage between the United States and Asia narrowed slightly in December due to the lower ocean-freight rates only partly offsetting the lower Midwest aluminium premiums.
The differential between cancelling aluminium without the 10% Section 232 tariff from London Metal Exchange-listed warehouses in Asia and shipping the material into the US Midwest also narrowed nearly $10 in all locations. For material with the 10% duty, the arbitrage window narrowed across the board, remained relatively thin and below $90 per tonne. "The softening of the Midwest premium and the higher barge and duty rates were only partly offset by lower ocean-freight rates, leaving the arbitrage weaker than last month," a market source said. The three-month LME aluminium price was below $2,000 per tonne for the majority of December - it hit a 16-month low of $1,905.50 per tonne on Thursday December 20 following the news that the US...